As a recruiter, telling candidates they weren’t successful is the worst part of my job. It’s hard for everyone concerned, the interviewer feels disappointed the candidate didn’t live up to their CV and my recommendation, I feel disappointed I wasn’t able to deliver on this occasion, and the candidate feels disappointed it wasn’t the life-changing career move they were hoping for.

It would be very easy for me to offer platitudes about how the culture fit wasn’t right, or that they were just pipped at the post by a candidate with more experience, but I believe I am failing in my role as Consultant if the interviewer passes on some negative feedback and I do not tell the candidate this, and give them the opportunity to learn.

I chose the honest path this week, and it’s fair to say the candidate in question did not take it well. I’ll spare you the details, but it’s fair to say I needed a strong coffee afterwards.

I wish that person every success in their job hunt. But just maybe, if they’d take time to reflect on what I was telling them (rather than insisting I was full of sh*t), that job hunt might be a bit easier.